How much do you spend a year on a horse??

Question

I don't want the horse or tack included. I just want to know the total you would pay a year for vet, farrier, boarding, and feed(if not included in board). I want someone who owns horses to answer this question. I don't want an exact number (since that is impossible) but an approximate. Also please tell me how much you spend on your horse yearly.

Oh, I know that the first year is scary since you buy the horse the tack, etc. So tell me like after that, how much is it.

Answer 1

For the yearly shots, worming & coggins test $175
Shoeing costs me $90 every six weeks.
Feed and hay run about $200 monthly
Boarding in my area runs about $200 for partial care and $400 per month for full board. ( I do not have this expense, since we have our own place with a barn)
So including small misc expenses such as shampoo, buckets, brushes, etc., I spend about $4000 - $5000 per horse per year. And this is routine everyday maintenance, not anything special like a vet bill for colic, special shoes for lameness or the like.

Answer 2

Well, buying/owning a horse or pony is so fun! But obviously there is some cost involved in with that much fun!!

Vet- If your horse stays totally healthy (which does happen) Then you will only need to pay for floating his teeth, yearly ($90 and mild sedation $40), vaccinations, biannually ($30-100), and if it is a gelding, sheath cleaning, yearly, which you can do or have your vet do ($50). You will also need to get a coggins yearly, which is like a horse I.D.($20). You will also need to deworm your horse, every 6 weeks ($15)

Your horse may also get things like abscess, arthritis, laminitis, founder, and many other diseases. I have had my pony for a year and the only thing that happened where I had to have the vet come out was an abscess, which that total cost with poultice pads, hoof test, vet wrap, and a bandage put on was about $50.

Farrier- Your farrier should visit your horse whenever your horse’s hoofs are to long, every 6-8 weeks. There are many things that the farrier can do with your horse’s feet:
-The horse can go barefoot -no shoes- just a trimming of the hoofs
-The horse can have front shoes, you would also have the hoofs trimmed and will have to buy new shoes. (Every visit unless a shoe falls of before the regular visit.)
-The horse can have shoes all around and you would have to do every thing for front shoes, plus back shoes.
- You can also get pads in your horses shoe or studs, which if you ride or show in a grass arena and do jumper type speed stuff you will want put in for the time being.
The cost of a farrier bill can range from ($75-$400) depending on shoes or the farrier and how nice his work is. I have a very inexpensive farrier and he does a great job!

Board- My board does include watering, grain, hay, 8 am- 4 pm turn-out, and two lessons a week. My board is about $515/month, but my trainer keeps raising it because he keeps putting in new arenas and stuff!

Other- I also buy my horse random junk, and I show so you have to pay for all of that as well!

Overall- About 15,000 a year, not including shows, or other junk! Unless you do a different disipline (i do hunter/jumper) and you can easily find a h/j barn cheaper than that two, I just board at an expensive barn! Lucky me! I have heard you can get buy with 5,000 a month, but I'm not sure what that will get you!

Hope this Helps!

Answer 3

Well, I've had my mare for 9 years now. We have a small farm including 11 other horses. Often in one month I've had to come up with $2,000 to cover the things my horse needed. Each year I spend about $5,000 to 7,000 on my best horse alone and I do things the cheap way. I feed my own horses, I administer my own shots and drugs, and I do all my own exercising. You will need to pay for feed including hay and grain. Hay is probably about $40 per month and grain maybe $10 a month. Salt and minerals blocks vary from $2.00 to $15.00 a block. Supplements are varied by horse. Some horses need a lot and some don't. Supplements are can be a big factor in you budget or not. All of these costs depend on the horse and how you ride them(a lot or a little). Deworming is important. In my area we only deworm twice a year, but some areas it's every month. Deworming medicine is about $8-15 per dose. Vaccinations are yearly and depend on your area. I spend probably about $55/horse a year in vaccinations. Horses need their teeth worked on or checked yearly. My vet charges $50. I spend about $250 a year on my farrier for shoeing and triming for one horse. I think I'm lucky there. I have friends that have to spend a lot more a year. Shoeing depends on the condition of the horse's feet and how you use them. I've gotten hurt and broke a few bones while playing with my horses. I spend about $500 a year a doctor bills for various problems related to horse injuries. Even the best horses can spook or stumble. Well you should probably include vechile and trailer maintance. Tires, gas, oil, etc is probably $2500/year but I do alot in the summer. So all in all I spend an average of 3500 dollars on a horse per year.

Answer 4

On board, farrier, and vet yearly I spend $7000-$8000, and my horse doesn't get shoes. Other boarders at my barn can spend almost $10,000/year on just board, farrier, and vet. Keep in mind though that I'm boarding at top quality facilities in the suburbs where my board is $425/month and I have to pay for daily wormer on top of that, plus in the winter I'm charged $1 to blanket my horse every time its taken on and off. This is probably the most that you will pay to keep a horse. I know that you can keep horses for many thousands less, but my horses are spoiled. Hope this helps.

Answer 5

I spent over $5000 per horse per year. I tried really hard to keep a lid on the costs. Hay went up, farrier went up, my vet bills were really reasonable, considering.
The least amout of money for having a horse is the purchase price.
I sold my horses due to the high cost. I am a single woman and just couldn't afford to have all of my money going to horses.
I miss my horses every day.
Now I may try leasing to see if I can afford that a little easier.
Why not lease a horse to start off and see if you can afford that?

Answer 6

I have heard that it can be as low as $1,000 to 2,000 a year. I personally feed a quality grass hay 2x a day, and it costs me about $40 max (probably more like $25) to feed one horse for a month. I also feed senior grain to one of my horses twice a day, but it's not that much, and I'd say you probably won't go through more than one bag a month per horse. (I doubt that) So, say about $50 - $60 for feed alone per horse per month. Then you have about $600 to feed a horse for a year. (this is rounding up a lot of my figures) I also buy mineral and salt but that costs about $5 every three months or so. I also get wormers on sale or more generic brands, so I spend about $10 every three months. I also have to use a water heater because it's cold where we live. Say I use it mid November to mid March. That costs about $1 every day. That would cost me about $120. Farrier costs are about $30 every two months. Vet for routine vaccinations and coggins was about $75 once a year. (I don't have to float teeth or shoe any of my horses. But a healthy horse. It pays in the end.) When you include grooming, fly spray, halters, etc. I'd guess about $50 - $75 per year. Total I have about $1500 per horse per year. I do everything the cheapest possible way that I can give my horses a healthy and quality life (e.g. - using corn oil and a paintbrush in place of expensive hoof mosturizer, bulk fly spray, clearance, etc.) though and I live in an area where things are generally cheaper. When I boarded my horse it cost $150 per month so that would be $1800 per year. Hope that wasn't too confusing.

Answer 7

I own 9 horses and my own pasture, but boarding in MS runs from $125/mo. Pasture turnout & Feeding to $250 stalled.
Worming- Every 6 weeks with Farrier- $14

Farrier- Trim-$25 Shoes-$40 (shoes only if going away from home on a ride).

Hay- Around 3 Round Rolls per horse- $20-$25 per roll= Year cost

Feed- Vet Recommended Oats to reduce colic risk so we mix half and half with Nutrena Compete. $20-$30 per month. (We only feed in fall through spring (Nov-April) due to the good pasture and warm summers.

Figuring Feed @$30- Yearly Cost for Me-$180
Farrier- 8 Visits for trims-$200
Worming-$112
Hay- Overestimate $200
Vaccinations- Need basics (west nile and tetanus) more if you stable with other peoples horses and show.

Yearly cost without boarding. $692

Good spots for horse stuff cheap- www.jeffersequine.com
www.countrysupply.com
www.americanlivestock.com

Answer 8

I spend about $1830 per year, per horse. I do not have my own property so I board my horses and pay a "self care" board price. I have broken it down for you and tried to average per horse as well.

I pay minimum per year for 2 horses:

Board: $1200 (600 each)

Farrier: $740 -shoes and trims (320 for shoes/50 for trims each)

Hay: $1200(5 tons each=$600) If you have the space to buy more than a ton at a time, you can save yourself some money buy storing your own hay.

Shots: $200+/-(100 each depends on the market price of vaccines)

Wormer: $45 (about 20+/- each--I buy the discount stuff online)

Grain: under $100 (mine don't get daily grain)

Beet pulp: $25 (I feed it to my horses year around)

Vitamins/selenium: $70 (about 35 each--we are in a selenium deficient area)

Mineral/Salt block: $25 (I like to have a couple extra)


If you have your own property obviously it's going to be cheaper on the board. And if you buy your supplements on line and in bulk you can save a LOT of money. Hope this helps!

Answer 9

We own 9 horse on 32 acers. We keep the horses ourselves, shoe them and trim their hooves ourselves, and we bale our own hay. We know how to keep our horses healthy and they haven't got majorly sick to have to call the vet. The only time we called a vet was when we had to put a horse down. We buy worming medication and things which cost quite a lot. We probably spend $800 more or less a year for all of them together.

Answer 10

A big part of the answer will depend on where you live.

I know places that board for $250/month and I know places that board for $1000/month.

Shoeing I have seen everywhere from $75 to reset to over $1000 for corrective work, and needs to be done every 6 weeks. If you let it go longer than that you being to get muscle problems after shoeing.

Vet? That is the big question mark. Shots, worming, illness, injuries.......

Feed and hay? What kind of feed? How big is the horse and how much work is he doing?

Are you going to show?

Really hard to answer this without more info.

You can expect to pay upwards of $10,000 for a low maintenance horse per year. If your horse has any kind of problems it will be much higher.